Hailing the social service by the Sikh community and Gurudwaras all over the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed the need to do “proper research and documentation” on this aspect of the Sikh tradition.
The Prime Minister expressed his views while chairing the meeting of the High-Level Committee to commemorate the 400th Birth Anniversary (Prakash Purab) of Guru Tegh Bahadur–the ninth of the ten Gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the head of the followers of Sikhism from 1665 until his beheading in 1675.
Addressing the meeting via video conferencing, the Prime Minister highlighted that it is important to make the younger generation understand the teaching and lessons from the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and noted that through digital means, it is easier to reach out to the younger generation world over to spread the message.
Elaborating on the discussions in the meeting, the Prime Minister said that to connect more and more people to commemorate the 400th Prakash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, various activities will be organized throughout the year.
Modi said that the organization of activities should be such that not only the life and teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur but of the entire Guru Tradition is propagated the world over.
He later hailed the social service by the Sikh community and Gurudwaras all over the world and said that “proper research and documentation on this aspect of the Sikh tradition should be done”.
Prime Minister said that the Sikh Guru tradition is a complete life philosophy in itself. It is the privilege and good fortune of the government that it has got the opportunity to celebrate the 550th Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev, the 400th Prakash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the 350th Prakash Purab of Guru Gobind Singh.
The meeting was attended by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh; Union Home Minister Amit Shah; Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh; Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge; Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar; Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh; Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot; President, Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, Bibi Jagir Kaur; MPs Sukhbir Singh Badal and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa; Former MP Tarlochan Singh; MD Amul R. S. Sodhi; and Eminent Scholar Amarjit Singh Grewal among others.
The Home Minister said that collective efforts should be made to ensure that the message of Guru Tegh Bahadur reaches out to all.
Culture Secretary gave a presentation on suggestions outlined till now for the commemoration.
The High-Level Committee was constituted by the Central government on October 24 last year to approve policies, plans, and programs related to the commemoration of the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur along with supervision of the events.
The High-Level Committee has 70 members including the Prime Minister as Chairman.
